Poblocki said she was required to pay half of the $10,000 bill up front before the hospital would treat her. She said she borrowed money from a family member so she could have surgery. A month later she had to have another surgery to remove an infection from the incision site, which required her to pay another $5,000 up front. Poblocki alleges the hospital harassed her and threatened to place a lien on her home and garnish her wages. She said Valley has declined payment plans that were not on its terms.

"I paid more than an insurer would, and up front no less, and they continued to hire a lawyer and harass me," Poblocki said.

Valley Hospital and its parent company, King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services Inc., were sued in Clark County District Court last week on allegations the company gouges uninsured patients, charging them more than insurers pay for the same procedures. The company also is accused of using overly aggressive tactics to collect on the charges and of failing to inform uninsured patients about discounts they may qualify for. Universal's other Las Vegas Valley hospitals, Desert Springs, Summerlin and Spring Valley, also are mentioned in the lawsuit.

Mike Tymczyn, spokesman for Universal's Las Vegas Valley operations, said the company has "not been served a complaint and has not had the opportunity to review the allegations with counsel.

"However, Universal Health Services believes that its hospitals are in compliance with all applicable laws relating to the billing to and collection from their patients," he said.

Universal's Chief Financial Officer Steve Filton told investors in July during the company's second-quarter earnings call that the company is working on a uniform discount for uninsured patients who meet certain income requirements. He said each hospital market varies and the uniform discount would likely be based on a percentage of Medicare's reimbursement rate.

Sunrise and MountainView hospitals along with their parent company, Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Inc., were sued Thursday in a separate lawsuit with similar allegations in Clark County District Court.

Los Angeles resident Alicia Hamilton was flying from Tampa, Fla., to her home when she said she became violently ill on a flight that had a stop in Las Vegas. She said she was taken to Sunrise Hospital for gallbladder problems and admitted under the assumption it would be removed.

Hamilton alleges that she was in the hospital for six days and was told varying stories by physicians that ranged from her health was critical to she was well enough to go home. She alleges that Sunrise did not immediately remove her gallbladder because she was uninsured.

HCA spokesman Jeff Prescott said HCA launched a discount program last year and agreed to not put a lien on homes valued at less than $300,000.

The current discount program provides free medical care to patients who have an income of 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $37,700 for a family of four.

This fall, HCA will offer a new discount policy for uninsured patients that will be comparable to managed care or Medicare charges, Prescott said.

Michelle Swafford covers health care and small business for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2326 or by e-mail at swafford@lasvegassun.com.